I built this 6x larger than real life, fully functional Arduino GRANDE. Why? There was talk among the MAKE: editors about how Arduino is really big at Maker Faire, and I thought, why not make it even bigger? Literally.

After modeling it in 3D software, drafting it for laser cutting, soldering up all the banana plugs to the real Arduino UNO (this thing is really a shield), etching and painting the graphics, and building some large-scale components to plug in, here we have it. The first time I hoisted it up on my shoulder like a boom box I was pretty darned psyched!

I’m going to be showing the Arduino GRANDE at Maker Faire and doing two talks about it on Saturday. I’ll use the GRANDE to demonstrate Arduino basics at the Make: Projects Stage in the Maker Shed (Saturday, 3-3:30 pm) and to talk about how I built this beast at the Make: Demo Stage (Saturday, 5:30-6 pm). Come on down and check it out!

John Edgar Park likes to make things and tell people about it. He works in CG animation at DisneyToon Studios and writes for Make, Boing Boing, and other places online and in print. You can find him at jpixl.net and twitter @johnedgarpark — if you like that sort of thing.